(March 6, 2008) Congress is moving closer to reauthorizing the Higher Education Act (HEA) following six years of operating under temporary extensions. On February 7, the House passed the College Opportunity and Affordability Act of 2007 (H.R. 4137) to reauthorize HEA; the Senate passed its version last summer. The House and Senate will now move to conference the legislation, a process by which the significant differences between the bills will be reconciled.
The current HEA extension expires on March 15; there is likely to be a short-term extension to give the conferees time to iron out these differences. It is anticipated that there will be a final bill this spring.
Many of the differences between the two bills relate to accreditation issues. Both the House and Senate bills contain language that would prevent the Department of Education from issuing new accreditation regulations on academic standards. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings has been vocal in her opposition to this provision. Despite the Secretary’s position, this language is likely to survive conference.